Studies in Indian Agriculture: The Art of the Possible by Gilbert Etienne, translated from the French by Megan Mothersole. University of California Press, 1968.

This book is a unique example of research on Indian agriculture that begins at the village level and works upward and outward to the development block, the district, and ultimately the state. It is based on the author’s own field work in four Indian villages, in Utter Pradesh, Madras, and Maharashtra, where he and his family lived during 1963/64. Utilizing his ability to talk to ordinary people in Hindi, relying mainly on such first-hand sources of information as village land records, block and district plans, and minutes of local councils as well as interviews with farmers, the author attempts meticulously to reach conclusions based on the knowledge of what is practicable in the rural economy of India.